The North Korean cargo ship Daebong 1, which has been missing for five years, has recently been spotted in mainland waters. (Picture / Retrieved from Twitter)
After the 3,800-ton North Korean freighter Dae Bong 1 mysteriously disappeared in the waters of mainland China in 2017, the outside world has been unable to find its whereabouts. Unexpectedly, after many years, Dafeng No. 1 has recently returned to the world.
According to the “Daily Star” report, Dafeng 1 “suddenly disappeared from the radar” while sailing in the waters of mainland China in July 2017. However, before and after the disappearance of Dafeng 1, relevant units and nearby ships did not receive radio. The distress signal added many mysteries to the disappearance of Dafeng No. 1. The 38,000-ton cargo ship that disappeared for five years actually appeared in the adjacent waters of Tangshan City, Hebei Province recently.
James Byrne, a researcher at the United Kingdom’s Royal Joint Institute for Defence and Security (RUSI), pointed out that any merchant ship must turn on the Automatic Identification System (AIS) around the clock in accordance with the International Maritime Convention. In this case, it suddenly appeared in Hebei, mainland China, which means that Dafeng No. 1 either turned off the AIS, or disguised the signal of other ships and “sailed blatantly in the dark for 5 years.”
Byrne believes that the reason why Dafeng No. 1 disappeared in the past is probably to avoid “United Nations trade sanctions” and conduct coal transactions with mainland China, and Tangshan City is one of the important coal and iron ore import ports in Hebei Province. , and iron ore is also one of North Korea’s important export commodities. In addition, the mainland’s Ministry of Commerce also ordered a complete ban on the import of coal, iron, lead, aquatic and marine products from North Korea in June this year, and it is interesting to compare the whereabouts of Dafeng No.